Each time he flew over it, it said his name. It could be a calm night, the moon lighting its surface as if it rested beneath the water instead of over it. It could be a humid day, its waves tipped crimson by the sun.

It called to him as his wings hummed with the air currents. His eyes sought its depths, a lover’s gaze that wouldn’t falter. How many times had he soared above it, wondering what lay below, what waited for him? Tonight was the night, there would be no more resisting its pull.

With careful movements he pushed the controls forward and listened for the sea’s voice above the screams of all two hundred fifty people onboard.